Secret trade negotiations could be bad for everyone
A secret trade deal being negotiated among 12 Pacific Rim nations including the United States rose to a prominent place in the public eye with a mysterious editorial in The New York Times on Wednesday.
The Trans Pacific Partnership is something every American needs to know about. Yet media coverage has been scant – even in The New York Times itself.
We analyzed it and researched the history today in
Trans Pacific Partnership on fast track to approval without public input (with video)
If agreement is reached as the Obama administration hopes before the end of the year, it could be a gift to the richest American corporations at the expense of everyone else.
Negotiations are proceeding largely out of sight and without participation by anyone except huge, multi-national corporate giants.
But details are available, if one looks hard enough, and they are frightening in their potential consequences.
The editorial in The New York Times on Wednesday was headlined:
A Pacific Trade Deal
But it is mysterious because The Times has done virtually no reporting on the topic on the past 12 months. Inquiring minds want to know where did it get its facts from?
The very secrecy shrouding the talks must make everyone suspicious that something nefarious is taking place that is not in the public interest.
And it is, indeed, as various experts have pointed out.
It is time for a robust debate on the issue.